In what is likely a marketing ploy, nearly all official Doctor Who social media accounts, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, plus the official website have seemingly gone offline.
The official Tumblr remains, though the last post on it was January 8, 2021.
It started this week with a teaser which has been broadcast between various BBC shows this week beginning on Saturday October 2. The teaser shows the Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) on the TARDIS urgently asking, “Can you hear me?” There is a great deal of static and interference obscuring the video.
On Friday October 8, at around 6:00pm, the teaser was posted on the official Twitter account. The last tweet from the official account merely had text that read, “++ —/CAN YOU HEAR ME?/ —++”. At thirteen minutes past the hour, the official @bbcdoctorwho account disappeared from Twitter with the message “This account doesn’t exist.”
The official website had this message:
“Oh my giddy Aunt!
The stuff, it’s gone wibbly! (1313)”
What does it all mean? Likely an announcement that the Doctor Who Series 13 premiere announcement is imminent – possibly at 13:13 BST (1:13pm) tomorrow. It is likely all the official Doctor Who media will return by that time.
In the meantime, fans can enjoy these images just officially released:
This image depicting a Sontaran spaceship over Liverpool Docks was also released.
Perhaps part of the marketing ploy is to claim Sontaran interference with the official Doctor Who media sites.
When does Doctor Who Series 13 premiere? That information is not yet available to us but an oddly-worded and incomplete monthly schedule available to cable subscribers with access to BBC America indicates a Doctor Who marathon starting Thursday October 28 which likely leads up to the premiere the series on the evening of October 31, Halloween.
Update: as of 6:00pm BST on October 9, or shortly after, all media except the website was restored.
— Doctor Who (@bbcdoctorwho) October 8, 2021
Doctor Who Series 13 will consist of six episodes of a single story.
There will be three additional specials in 2022, airing on New Year’s Day, spring, and a BBC centenary special in autumn which will be the last for Jodie Whittaker’s thirteenth Doctor.